Interview with badass Woman Music Mogul, Ava Leanne!

This woman stands out for so many reasons but the one that caught my eye first was a fire red, head of hair, that immediately grabs your attention and warrants the question, “Who is she?” After a cosign of her coolness from an industry friend, I followed her on socials where I quickly realized not only are her looks and personality incredibly captivating… but, she’s a badass in the music industry! Ava holds a job title many would kill for and rocks it to the fullest. We got the chance to catch up with her and find out more about her.

Ava and Ryan Thomas, Manager of Party Favor & CEO of Level Events

Ava, what is your role in the music industry?

I’m the Talent Coordinator for Drai’s Las Vegas – I deal mostly with live music but a little in EDM as well.

Give us a run down, a summary if you will, of how you achieved the position you have now.

I was always fascinated with concerts and how they operated, so I decided to start targeting venues in my area and frequently visiting them for all sorts of shows to make myself known with the staff and locals alike. After I became comfortable with everyone and understanding these events, I began passing out flyers to show my support with not a dime in my pocket which eventually turned my curiosity on behind-the-scenes operations. I was so intrigued with the production side and as time passed, my curiosity turned into a paid gig. I started covering all grounds of how the shows were pieced together and who was actually responsible for what outside of the artist themselves. Long story short, I paid attention and ended up climbing the ladder for my career.

where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Honestly, I couldn’t tell you what I’m doing in the next 5 minutes…

Stolen From Ava’s Instagram

What did you want to be when you were younger and what was it like growing up in your family?

The funniest thing is that I was actually heading towards pre-med for health science & nutrition. Could you imagine me being a dietician? YIKES.

Growing up in my family was the opposite of normal. Both of my parents are morticians, so imagine getting dropped off from school at a funeral home like it’s a casual thing. I moved a lot as a kid as well so I was always adjusting to new surroundings. To be fair, it helped me become more open-minded about everything and appreciate the art of life from different perspectives – Including music. My family and I are a very rare breed.

Tell us what music means to you and why music as a whole is so important to you.

Nothing inspires me more than knowing how universal music is and how it makes everyone feel. It’s extremely rare to find someone that says “I hate music and everything about it!” Music is so important because it really gets under my skin – It just knows how to take the wheel and cruise control my emotions in real time.

why do you feel the female perspective is so important in the music industry, what do we bring to the table that’s different?

Women are more sensitive and delicate with life so we are basically the “mother’s touch” that can be lacking in the aggressive wolf’s den of the industry.
(This is one of my favorite answers to this question I’ve received. -RayTrill)

Tell us about some women in the industry that have inspired you?

I gotta give credit to my rocker chicks – Debbie Harris from Blondie and Siouxsie Sioux from Siouxsie & The Banshees. Nobody crushes glam with attitude like these ladies and that’s really what this is about – Having the right attitude for confidence to express your own style and make your mark with no care in the world about what anyone else thinks.

Why do you think the music industry is so male dominated?

The music industry, has always been male-dominated. It wasn’t really a jab against women, men were just the first to grab the torch when women were grinding in other fields, like educating the youth. When you really think about the behind-the-scenes aspect of this, men are also able to the express the “What could go wrong???!!” risk more than women because we think too much about the emotional scar of “What if this fails” scenarios.

The current generation is all about having their voice heard within social justice, and that includes the roles of men vs women. Music just so happens to be such a massive staple in the world so it’s an easier target to charge at. Call me aggressive for this but women are too focused on things like this and overshadowing the fact that there ARE a lot of females actively crushing the music industry today. Since we’re too busy focusing on issues of men “dominating” the music industry, we’re literally missing spotlight opportunities for our queens in every genre crushing it these days.

What can we do as women to help improve our own image in the industry?

Working together and not against each other. Quit competing on what attention we think we deserve “because we are women” when we can channel that energy to focus on bringing more to the table in this industry. Nobody cares about you being a woman, the industry one cares about what you can do.

Ava with Future and team surrounding!

What inspires you to keep thriving and grinding for more.

Change. If you’re stuck in a constant routine and seeing the same results regularly, how do you expect to go anywhere? It’s extremely motivating to me knowing there’s always something around the corner.

What words can you give to inspire other woman wanting to make it in this crazy industry?

This industry is a dog-eat-dog world that thrives off of filtering out the weak but also remember this: If you love something this much, you’re willing to sacrifice for it with confidence that screams, “I’m here to fuck shit up” We as women are known to be strong… Let’s keep that trait going for generations to come! Cry in the bathroom if you need to, it happens, just never show your weakness to your peers.

What’s up next for you Ava?

What’s next for me? Opening my own Wingstop franchise that doubles as a record shop.. Kidding but hey, who knows.

I’m on cruise control until the next opportunity arises because focusing too much on the future just creates chaos for the present.